Marketing was one of the first major avenues of modern business operations where big data and analytics were prominently applied, to considerably beneficial effect.
Marketing was one of the first major avenues of modern business operations where big data and analytics were prominently applied, to considerably beneficial effect. These tools have continued to demonstrate their value in the marketing sphere, granting companies an avenue through which to understand customers’ preferences more thoroughly, bolstering consumer engagement for the betterment of businesses and customers alike.
A science rather than an art
In a recent interview with Computerworld, Dominic Powers, vice president of the Asia Digital Marketing Association, made a point of highlighting how marketing had progressed on the heels of better analytics use.
“Marketing is now science,” Powers said, according to the news source. “Data visualization tools and marketing automation tools are now available for marketers to understand their customers beyond a demographic bracket.”
Powers highlighted the personal care products manufacturing conglomerate Procter & Gamble as a firm that had achieved major benefits by using analytics for its customer engagement efforts. By culling third-party data regarding certain local neighborhoods and analyzing various metrics regarding their populations, the company was able to determine how profitable it would be to court the attention of those potential customers with marketing initiatives. Other businesses, such as market research firm Nielsen and Korean e-commerce retailer Lotte.com, were also able to see positive results using tactics in the same vein.
Following in those footsteps
While the businesses in the examples mentioned above are all large corporations, businesses of any size and within any sector can benefit from business intelligence software platforms that apply analytics to their fullest potential. According to the Guardian, several best practices will be particularly useful for those that are just beginning to use analytics for marketing or are still on the fence regarding adoption.
The news source states that focusing on volume in and of itself is not necessarily wise. It will be more ideal to choose and apply the right data than to try and collect all of it. At the same time, finding the right data requires searching through as much of it as possible and leaving no stone unturned.
Additionally, the Guardian warned against the dangers of treating big data projects as something somehow separate from the rest of a business’ operations. Instead, it needs to be fully integrated within the overall IT infrastructure, for the best possible effect.